Want a designer Starbucks T-shirt? That’ll be $85, please

(Click image for a larger view.) Shirts designed by Wang, Sophie Theallet and Billy Reid. (Photo by Nordstrom)

The ultimate fashion statement for coffee lovers? Well, that would be dark coffee stains on your pants or shirt.

But Starbucks is introducing a line of T-shirts to commemorate 40 years of selling coffee, and some might say that’s a close second. Of course, those would be the folks who really, really like Starbucks coffee.

The Seattle-based coffee company announced Monday that it invited three noted designers to create T-shirts celebrating the Starbucks brand. Alexander Wang, Sophie Theallet, and Billy Reid are all past recipients of the annual CFDA/Vpgue Fashion Fund award, and they came up with the shirts you see pictured on the right.

These T-shirts aren’t cheap. They’re selling for $85 via StarbucksStore.com and at some Nordstrom locations. The shirts went on sale this morning, and will be available for a limited time.

Starbucks officials said they expect the shirts to sell quickly. Just before noon, some designs were already back-ordered.

The shirts reminds me of an idea I saw a while ago on MyStarbucksIdea.com, the site where Starbucks customers can offer feedback and product concepts to the corporation.

The idea came from a Starbucks barista in Kansas. He wrote:

Offer a personalized Starbucks Tee shirt with a customers’ regular drink order. On the front would be the actual drink order (“Double-tall-non-fat-light-whip- mocha”) and on the back could be a copy of a Starbucks cup with the proper markings that represent the drink order. Wear the tee-shirt to your favorite Starbucks location and receive a discount on the beverage! (Free advertising for Starbucks and a great conversation piece while out and about!).